As part of Techwire’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with departmental IT and cybersecurity leaders.
Techwire is pleased to welcome Telos Corp. to the Techwire family. Telos offers solutions that empower and safeguard some of the most security-conscious enterprises across the globe. The company protects information assets on-prem and in the cloud with secure solutions that wield mobile communication, organizational messaging and identity management – freeing clients to safely pursue their missions. Telos serves commercial enterprises, the military, civilian and intelligence entities of the federal government, and allied nations. For state and local, Telos’ Xacta® platform for cyber risk management and continuous compliance facilitates security assessments and tamps down audit fatigue via a multiuse model that works harmoniously with customers’ unique security controls and frameworks. For more information, visit telos.com.
“I believe that FI$Cal will continue to push the envelope and lead the way for California government entities in the adoption and use of modern technologies, systems and practices,” says Miriam Ingenito, director of the Financial Information System for California.
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers recently honored people and projects that have demonstrated innovation in technology within the public sector, including from California.
Techwire is pleased to welcome Mentis LLC to the Techwire family. Mentis provides next-generation digital and IT consulting services to state government and local agencies to transform their public-sector policies into innovative programs of this digital age. Mentis, based in the Sacramento area, offers services in cloud, data, AI/analytics and digital transformation through its “Software Engineering DNA,” developing customers’ digital personalities. Mentis has delivered solutions in sectors including health and human services, pensions, tax services and environment protection. For more information, go to mentis-llc.com or contact Ashok Bhatia, president and CEO.
Techwire is pleased to welcome TIBCO Software to the Techwire family. TIBCO empowers government entities to wield the power of real-time data in making swifter, better-informed choices. For more than a quarter century, TIBCO has helped entities boost effectiveness, supported their oversight and driven transparency through programs across the enterprise. Its Connected Intelligence Platform provides seamless connections for any data source or app, unifying data intelligently for better access, trust and control; and enabling the confident prediction of outcomes at scale and in real time. TIBCO’s Cloud Integration is cloud-native, built to simplify and accelerate event-driven APIs and integrations, and to automate business process and workflows. For more information, visit tibco.com.
“I have a passion for this job. I really do. I look at every day as an opportunity and a blessing to make a change for the county and help support and improve business processes across the organization. It’s definitely a privilege and an honor to serve in this position,” says Rami Zakaria, CIO and director of the Department of Technology for Sacramento County.
This year’s course topics will include strategic planning, agile best practices for the executive level, coaching and mentoring techniques to ensure good succession planning, enterprise communication, and systems thinking.
“The CISO role is now seen as a trusted adviser for the organization, that serves as a thought partner to manage enterprise risk and how technology can enable the organization. ... CISOs of today must understand the business goals of the organization and how cyber risk fits in the overall organization’s strategy,” says Robert Leon, chief information security officer for Covered California.
Director Miriam Ingenito will provide an update on what her department has been focused on in the past year, what’s on the front burner now, and what opportunities may lie ahead for those in the vendor community.
As part of Techwire’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with departmental IT and cybersecurity leaders.
Techwire is pleased to welcome NetBrain to the Techwire family. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Burlington, Mass., NetBrain maintains offices in Sacramento and around the world. NetBrain is a market leader in NetOps automation and its platform offers network engineers end-to-end visibility across hybrid environments, while automating their tasks across IT workflows. More than 2,400 of the largest enterprises and managed services providers globally rely on NetBrain to automate network documentation, speed up troubleshooting and strengthen network security. For more information, visit netbraintech.com or contact Jose Correa.
The Best of California Awards during the California Virtual Digital Government Summit acknowledged high-achieving state IT officials and significant recent IT projects.
As part of Techwire’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with departmental IT and cybersecurity leaders.
“I guess I would say I’m kind of equal parts technology evangelist, strategist/futurist and project manager. I think in the big picture, (I) really focus on pushing forward the importance of technology as a whole and often in an environment which is resistant to change or adapting some old processes to technology,” says Nate Greenberg, IT director for Mono County and the town of Mammoth Lakes.
Techwire is pleased to welcome Spectrum Enterprise to the Techwire family. Part of Charter Communications Inc., Spectrum Enterprise offers scalable, fiber technology solutions that serve some of the nation’s largest businesses and communications providers. Its wide portfolio includes networking and managed services solutions such as Internet access, Ethernet access and networks, as well as voice and TV solutions. Its cyber, cloud, and enterprise security solutions enable state and local government to meet rising data and privacy threats, establish security and risk management policies and accommodate remote work. For more information, visit enterprise.spectrum.com or contact Michael Hogan.
Rick Klau, California’s chief technology innovation officer, hit the ground running when he joined state government earlier this year. He’s been focused primarily on how the state can best use technology in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I try to share with my staff that evidence of we are doing a great job is when we are invisible, and our coworkers get their job done seamlessly,” says Jorge Henneke, chief information officer for the California Conservation Corps.
Data Con LA 2021, this year’s virtual version of an annual event focused on data and the technologies that gather, use and share it, has announced its roster of speakers and other details for next month’s conference.
“So, digital transformation for us — is digital services, basically, making sure your constituents have everything they need. They don’t have to drive down to City Hall for anything. They can do everything online. And we’ve come a long way as far as our department is concerned,” says Bryon Horn, chief information officer for the city of Fresno and director of its Information Services Department.
“So, beyond the typical responsibilities of a CIO, which include being responsible for the vision, strategic direction, and policy development and management of our IT systems and supporting infrastructure, our program partners require IT to be innovative, flexible, and adaptable to meet their changing needs,” says Jennifer Chan, chief information officer at the California State Lottery.
“We ... see digital transformation as a continuous process of improvement. Importantly, we take a human-centered-design perspective. It focuses on accessibility and takes many forms of customer feedback to direct our improvements. In this way, all new city digital services are built for and by city residents,” says Linda Gerull, chief information officer and executive director of San Francisco’s Department of Technology.
“We have the technology road map, where we want to go, how we want to invest in the technology, how it will reduce our technical debt, how it will help improve and make some consistent business processes and programs. A lot of these things are part of the digital transformation aspect – but I need that culture change,” says Rob Peterson, agency information officer at the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Techwire is pleased to welcome Ministry of Velocity to the Techwire family. Ministry of Velocity collaborates with government entities to help them reach digital transformation via human-centered design, equitable software development and good stewardship. An engineering consultancy, its diverse team embraces democratic principles and believes great software experiences derive from focusing on the users. Its areas of particular expertise include custom software development, telepresence and live video streaming development; user experience and service design, training services, DevOps on-prem or Amazon Web Services (AWS); and code audits. For more information, visit ministryofvelocity.com or contact Doc Ritezel.
“With different events every week and our big event, the California State Fair, every July, my role as IT manager is closely tied to the operation of our events. I don’t think my role differs all that much from a CIO’s role in that I am given the opportunity to play a big part in strategic planning,” says Pat Conner, IT manager for the California Exposition and State Fair.
This Northern California county doubled down on moving to the cloud, kept cybersecurity policies updated and maintained lines of communication during the COVID-19 pandemic – all of which helped it land in the winners’ circle in the 19th annual Digital Counties Survey from the Center for Digital Government.
Led by e.Republic market experts Dustin Haisler and Joe Morris, this virtual midyear overview provides intelligence to help align your marketing and sales strategies to strongly close out the year.
The county IT department is managing the transition to a new $20.5 million civic center and will also replace its 30-year-old public safety radio system in 2021-2022.
